Windows Archive

While Build 5232 was released today to testers, WinSuperSite continues its review of build 5231. "Windows Vista Build 5231 could have been horrible and I'd still be happy about it, because we're finally getting regular Windows Vista builds. That build 5231 is not horrible, and includes a number of exciting new features, is just the frosting on the cake. After a rough beginning and a particularly bad 2004-2005, Windows Vista is finally on track."

A few weeks ago an "unofficial" preview release of windows XP SP3 hit the web. Now, Microsoft has responded and warned users of this preview package. "You would be well advised to stay clear of this FAKE SP3 package. It is NOT suitable for testing as it is NOT SP3."

Microsoft is poised to release to testers the second Community Technology Preview release of Vista, paving the way for a second full-fledged beta, which is now expected in December. Among the new features which could find their way into the updated build are a number of IE 7.0 enhancements; the resurrected "Sidebar" task pane; Windows Media Player 11.0; and new networking functionality.

"When Windows first shipped, 20 years ago this month, it was considered nothing more than a slow operating environment that had arrived late to the party, well behind the industry leaders, Apple and Xerox PARC. Now, it's the operating system used on nearly 95 percent of all the desktops and notebooks sold worldwide. Take a look at Window's past and present, and what lies ahead in the future, including an interview with Mr. Bill Gates himself."

Microsoft is about to give Media Center PCs a new point of view. The software giant is expected to unveil on Friday an update for its Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system that will boost the computers' abilities to tap online entertainment such as movies, access e-mail and even let users go shopping via the special user interface, designed to allow easy access to multimedia.

As promised, Microsoft on Tuesday issued nine separate security patches, fixing vulnerabilities in DirectX, Exchange, Internet Explorer, and Windows itself. Three of the fixes were deemed "critical," four "important," and two "moderate".

Simple passwords aren't good enough any more, as the flood of stories about phishing, fraud, and compromised accounts by the millions demonstrate. The Next Big Thing in computer security is two-factor authentication and, like it or not, you're probably going to be dealing with it in the next year or so. But two-factor authentication is a concept, not a product, and how it's implemented is critical to its success.

As part of its monthly patching cycle, Microsoft on Tuesday plans to release eight security alerts for flaws in the Windows operating system. They also plan to release by year's end an initial test version of a new product to protect business desktops, laptops and file servers against malicious code attacks. "Unofficial" preview of XP SP3 pack includes log-on improvements and network fixes for Windows XP PCs. Elsewhere, on Wednesday, Neil Barrett was named trustee in the European Commission's antitrust case against Microsoft.

With the first beta for Microsoft's upcoming Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Solution barely out the door, the development team is already thinking seriously about features and functionality designed to make the next version of the product even easier to use and manage than its Linux competitor.

Microsoft's new operating system won't be out until late 2006, but here's a look at some of the new security features expected. This includes less kernel-level code, IE7 in restricted mode, and more.

"In this column, I'd like to try to answer some of the questions that we've seen asked repeatedly in the new Microsoft Windows 64-bit Newsgroup. The newsgroup became available during the launch of Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, and has been quite active since the launch."

The documents included are: the Getting Started guide (an 80-page introduction to using the shell and the MSH language supported by the Windows Monad Shell), a single-page summary of the MSH language, formatted as a tri-fold, a quick-start guide to tracing in the Windows Monad Shell, and the three Hands-On Labs from the 2005 Professional Developers Conference; "Monad Scripting", "Building Monad Cmdlets" and "Creating Monad Providers".

Microsoft has revealed plans to release a third service pack for its Windows XP operating system.

Vista Beta 1 and Longhorn Server Beta 1 include a new implementation of the TCP/IP protocol suite known as the Next Generation TCP/IP stack. The Next Generation TCP/IP stack in Windows Vista and Windows Server Longhorn is a complete redesign of TCP/IP functionality for both IPv4 and IPv6 that meets the connectivity and performance needs of today's varied networking environments and technologies. Elsewhere, will Office 12 be named... Office Mondo?